Park Row is a street located in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
,
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...
, and
Chinatown
Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
neighborhoods of the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The street runs east–west, sometimes called north–south because the western end bends to the south. At the north end of Park Row is the confluence of
Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...
,
East Broadway, St. James Place, Oliver Street,
Mott Street
Mott Street () is a narrow but busy thoroughfare that runs in a north–south direction in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is regarded as Chinatown, Manhattan, Chinatown's unofficial "Main Street". Mott Stre ...
, and
Worth Street
Worth Street is a two-way street running roughly northwest-southeast in Manhattan, New York City. It runs from Hudson Street, TriBeCa, in the west to Chatham Square in Chinatown in the east. Past Chatham Square, the roadway continues as Olive ...
at
Chatham Square. At the street's south end,
Broadway,
Vesey Street
Vesey Street ( ) is a street in New York City that runs east-west in Lower Manhattan. The street is named after Rev. William Vesey (1674–1746), the first rector of nearby Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church.
History
The intersection ...
, Barclay Street, and
Ann Street intersect. The intersection includes a bus turnaround loop designated as
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
.
Park Row was once known as Chatham Street; it was renamed Park Row in 1886, a reference to the fact that it faces
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost came to New Netherland as early as 1638, probab ...
, the former New York Common.
History
18th century
In the late 18th century
Eastern Post Road became the more important road connecting
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to
Albany and
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
to its north. This section of the road which became Park Row was called Chatham Street,
a name that enters into the city's history on numerous occasions.
The
tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
in New York City got its start in 1760, when
Pierre Lorillard opened a
snuff factory on Chatham Street, and in 1795, the Long Room of Abraham Martling's Tavern on Chatham Street was one of the first headquarters used by the
Tammany Society and the
Democratic-Republican Party
The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...
, founded by
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, on election days. Those who gathered there became known as "Martling Men", "Tammanyites" or "Bucktails", especially during the time that Tammany was attempting to wrest control of the party away from governor
De Witt Clinton. In the 1780s, Chatham Street was the site of the Tea Water Pump, a privately owned company which took water from Fresh Water Pond, the city's only supply of fresh water, and which remained purer longer than some of the other sources which drew from the pond.
Chatham Street was also a center for entertainment. In 1798,
Marc Isambard Brunel
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (, ; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-American engineer active in the United States and Britain, most famous for the civil engineering work he did in the latter. He is known for having overseen the pr ...
designed the 2,000-seat Park Theater on Chatham Street, intended to attract the upper classes of the city. The theater cost $130,000 to build, and tickets were 25 cents for seats in the gallery, and 50 cents in the orchestra. In the early 1800s, more taverns, theaters and small hotels on the street started to offer free entertain to attract customers to drink. These were called "free and easies", "varieties" or "vaudeville" and offered numerous different kinds of performances: comedy, dance, dramatic skits, magic, music, ventriloquism, and tellers of tall tales. New theaters such as the Chatham Theater sprang up as well to attract the overflow from the entertainment strip on the Bowery.
Boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
was also a popular entertainment. The Arena on Park Row packed in fans with its nightly presentation of "the manly art".
19th century
In the early 19th century, most of the Manhattan portion of the street was suppressed, the Commons became
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost came to New Netherland as early as 1638, probab ...
, and the stub of a street was renamed Park Row. By the mid-19th century, the street had a bazaar-like atmosphere from the many used clothing shops and
pawnbroker
A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...
ages open by recently immigrated Jews from Germany and central Europe. This gave rise to
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
caricatures, although many New Yorkers could not distinguish
German Jews
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
from other
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
. Chatham Street was also the site of several anti-African American incidents, as in the 1863
New York City draft riots, during which rioters were repulsed in their attempt to attack black waiters at Crook's Restaurant on the street. Poverty was also commonplace; in 1890,
Jacob Riis
Jacob August Riis ( ; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, " muck-raking" journalist, and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in the United States of Ame ...
revealed in ''
How the Other Half Lives'' that over 9,000 homeless men lodged nightly on Chatham Street and the Bowery, between City Hall and
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...
.
Newspaper era
During the late 19th century, Park Row was nicknamed Newspaper Row, as most of New York City's newspapers located on the street to be close to
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
. Among the earlier newspapers in the area were ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
[ which in 1857 became the first New York City newspaper to be housed in a structure built specially for its use.] Part of the southern section of the street, centered on the intersection with Spruce Street, was known as Printing House Square. The newspapers housed on Newspaper Row, combined, printed more than 250,000 copies per day at their peak, leading the area to be considered "America's preeminent press center". Other papers, such as the ''New York Herald
The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''.
Hi ...
'' and ''The Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'', were near Newspaper Row but not actually housed on Park Row itself.[
The newspapers on Chatham Street were among the first to construct ]early skyscrapers
The earliest stage of skyscraper design encompasses buildings built between 1884 and 1945, predominantly in the American cities of New York City, New York and Chicago. Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low-rise buildings, ...
for their headquarters, reflecting their newfound wealth. The first of these major newspaper buildings, the New York Tribune Building, opened in 1875 as a nine-story, structure; the headquarters of the ''New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'' was then the city's second-tallest building after Trinity Church.
After the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
in 1883, Park Row was the site of the large Park Row Terminal for the elevated trains and cable-hauled shuttle cars which crossed the bridge. Service was gradually reduced from 1913 to 1940, and the terminal was demolished in 1944.
The next major structure to open was a new headquarters for ''The New York Times'' at 41 Park Row, which was completed in 1889 and stood 13 stories tall. The third early skyscraper on Newspaper Row was the 20-story New York World Building, the ''New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...
'' headquarters, which at a height of was the first building in the city to be taller than Trinity Church. The Times and Tribune Buildings were both expanded in the first decade of the 20th century.[
Two other buildings on Park Row were also part of Newspaper Row but not built specifically for newspapers' use. The ]Potter Building
The Potter Building is a building in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building occupies a full block along Beekman Street with the addresses 38 Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row to its west ...
, at 38 Park Row, contained tenants such as ''The Press'', a Republican Party–affiliated penny paper
Penny Publications, LLC is an American magazine publisher specializing in puzzles, crosswords, sudokus as well as mystery and science fiction magazines. Penny Publications publishes over 85 magazines distributed through newsstands, in stores, ...
, as well as ''The New York Observer
''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...
''. The Park Row Building
The Park Row Building, also known as 15 Park Row, is a luxury apartment building and early skyscraper on Park Row in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The , 31-story building was designed by R. H. Robertson, ...
, at 15 Park Row, housed the early headquarters of the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, founded by Moses Yale Beach.
'' The Revolution'', a newspaper established by women's rights activists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...
, was also headquartered on Park Row, at 27 Chatham Street.
The decline of Park Row as a newspaper hub began in 1895, when the ''Herald'' moved to Herald Square.[
]
20th century
Ten years later, in 1905, the ''Times'' moved to its new headquarters at One Times Square
One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of ...
. The ''Tribune'' moved uptown in 1923, while the ''World'' shuttered in 1931.[ '']The Journal of Commerce
''Journal of Commerce'' is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage day-to ...
'', the last remaining newspaper to publish from Park Row, moved from its headquarters in the World Building in 1953.
Until 1971, Park Row continued in a relatively straight path, except for a curved portion around the Brooklyn Bridge's ramps. Between 1971 and 1973, a pedestrian plaza was built as part of 1 Police Plaza, after which Park Row was rerouted underneath the plaza and its intersection with New Chambers Street and Duane Street was eliminated.
Today, a statue of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
by Ernst Plassman stands in Printing House Square, in front of the One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row buildings of Pace University
Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
, holding a copy of '' The Pennsylvania Gazette'', a reminder of what Park Row once was.
Structures
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was originally located at 113 Nassau Street in 1851. It moved to 138 Nassau Street in 1854, and in 1858 it moved a little more than one block away to 41 Park Row, possibly making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use. The New York Times Building, which was designed by George B. Post
George Browne Post (December15, 1837November28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several contemporary American architectural genres, an ...
, was designated a New York City landmark in 1999. The building is now used by Pace University.
The '' New Yorker Staats-Zeitung'' moved to its own building at 17 Chatham Street at almost the same time as the ''Times'' moved into its new building.[''An Epitome of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung's Sixty-Five Years of Progress''. 1899. Complimentary pamphlet prepared and distributed by the ''Staats-Zeitung'' to describe its history and new press capacity. This source indicates that the ''Staats-Zeitung'' was publishing from its building on Chatham Street no later than April 1858, and possibly as early as a year prior to that.]
The Park Row Building
The Park Row Building, also known as 15 Park Row, is a luxury apartment building and early skyscraper on Park Row in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The , 31-story building was designed by R. H. Robertson, ...
(also known as 15 Park Row) is located at the western end of Park Row, opposite City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost came to New Netherland as early as 1638, probab ...
. Designed by noted architect R. H. Robertson, and built in 1896-99, It was designated a city landmark in 1999. At tall it was the tallest building in the world from 1899 until 1908, when it was surpassed by the Singer Building.
The Potter Building
The Potter Building is a building in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building occupies a full block along Beekman Street with the addresses 38 Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row to its west ...
at 38 Park Row (145 Nassau Street) was built in 1882-86 and designated a New York City landmark in 1996. It was built after the owner's previous building on the site burned down. The Potter Building was converted into apartments between 1979 and 1981.
The New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
is headquartered at 1 Police Plaza located on Park Row, across the street from the Manhattan Municipal Building
The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, building at 1 Centre Street (Manhattan), Centre Street, east of Chambers Street (Manhattan), Chambe ...
and Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Two apartment buildings of significance on Park Row are the Chatham Towers at no. 170, built in 1965 and designed by Kelly & Gruzen, which, according to the ''AIA Guide to New York City
The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...
'', makes a "strong architectural statement...hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
rouses great admiration and great criticism," and Chatham Green at 185 Park Row, built in 1961 and also designed by Kelly & Gruzen.
Police Plaza closure
The segment of Park Row between Frankfort Street and Chatham Square is open only to MTA buses and government and emergency vehicles and has been closed to civilian traffic since the September 11, 2001, attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...
. The NYPD asserts that this is necessary to protect its headquarters from a truck bomb attack. Nearby Chinatown residents were increasingly frustrated at the disruption caused by the closure of the thoroughfare, arguing that the police department has placed a chokehold on an entire neighborhood and suggesting that One Police Plaza be moved from a residential area. Members of the Civic Center Residents Coalition fought the security perimeter around One Police Plaza for years. Park Row reopened for foot traffic and MTA buses in 2005, although only 200 buses per day were allowed on the street, and they had to pass through security checkpoints.
In 2007, the NYPD stated that it would not be moving despite the numerous complaints from residents, explaining that they had tried to alleviate the impact of the security measures by forbidding officers from parking in nearby public spaces and by reopening a stairway that skirts the headquarters' south side and leads down to street level near the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
. The department also planned to redesign its guard booths and security barriers to make them more attractive, and was involved in efforts to convert two lanes of Park Row into a cycling and pedestrian greenway, which opened in June 2018. In the 2020s, the section of Park Row north of Chatham Square remained closed to most traffic, and residents of Chinatown were advocating for it to be reopened. Because of the security barriers, ambulances tended to avoid traveling along the Police Plaza section of Park Row.
Transportation
Park Row is served in its entirety by the bus routes, while the eastbound runs until Frankfort Street.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Park Row: A New York Songline
– virtual walking tour
{{Streets of Manhattan, state=collapsed
Chinatown, Manhattan
Civic Center, Manhattan
Financial District, Manhattan
Newspaper headquarters in the United States
Newspaper row
Streets in Manhattan